And Love Said No
by A Slayer In The TARDIS
Summary: I am nothing, a Squib...a magicless, pathetic, little Squib in a family of disapproving, disowning Purebloods. But is that all there is to it?
1. Prologue

**A/N: So, new Marauder's fic. Way better plot than the last I tried to write. Better beginning too. R/R? ((kthnxbai))**

**Prologue**

"So, we are at an agreement then?"

"Yes, yes, Katia…"

"And the Vow?"

"What better guarantee?"

I remember bits and pieces of the conversation. Not much of it though, seeing as I was much too busy playing tag at that precise moment. It was not unusual to be playing outside whilst the adults handled the business. I suppose that's how things work when you're only five years of age, so why question a few big words being tossed around in growling tones? I wasn't quite sure by that time that my parent's voices even changed from the very same tone, even in casual conversation. I still wonder about that, actually.

"Nya, nya, nya, nya, nya!" I heard from my right side off in the distance. My head snapped in the direction to see my dark haired friend sticking his tongue out at me. With an overly dramatic gasp, all my attention left the "grown-ups" and I sprinted off to tackle the boy.

I had nearly leaped off the ground when the irritated sound of my name drilled through my eardrums. Now in mid-jump, I wished desperately that I could fly to avoid the very-near-future pain. I unfortunately landed face-first with a thud as my left knee met a very sharp, broken twig.

Keep in mind, I was a very sensitive child.

"WAHHHHHHHHH!" I let out a loud labored sob as tears flooded my eyes and trickled down my cheeks.

My mother's shrill voice called my name again in the same impatient tone. I, on the other hand, continued my sob-fest there on the dry summer grass.

"She fell!" my friend shouted back at the adults in a harsh tone. I could hear his light footfalls but was far too busy refusing to accept that I had a small cut on my knee. Pulling one of my arms around him, he hoisted me onto my feet, which only made my sobs louder. "Don't worry, it'll go away before you know it."

"R-really?" I asked quietly and glanced up at the blurry figure of the boy.

He grinned confidently. "Of course it will! _I_ know these things."

"Althea! I will **not** call for you again!" My mother called for me a third time, storming through the playground, kicking sand in her wake. She grabbed my forearm roughly, yanking me away from my friend.

"But mum!" I cried out, wincing as the grip on my arm began to hurt worse than my knee which I was currently being forced to walk on.

My mother huffed, "You can see you little friend next week; I've scheduled you a play date."

How thoughtful.

I glanced back over my shoulder and waved to the shrinking figure. "Bye Sirius!"

"Bye Aly!" I barely heard in the distance.

Now, I suspect you're thinking 'what exactly did that have to do with anything?'. I can't particularly tell you at the moment or else I'd have no story, but this will be a very integral part of my life beyond the age of five. No, it certainly does not completely revolve around Sirius Black.

I am not here to tell you of a dramatic teenage romance.

I am, on the other hand, here to tell you of social discriminance, a grudge, long-held lies, murder, an unbreakable vow…

…and how they all happen to lead to Sirius Back and, myself, Althea Locke.

* * *

Sirius, of course, wasn't the only of the Black children I was forced to play with at that age. Andromeda taught me how to do cart wheels, as where Bellatrix pulled my hair and Narcissa made me her personal house elf. Needn't I forget Regulus, who rather enjoyed pushing me into the mud. My mother and father noticed none of this. In fact, they were there for most of it and still went along as if not a thing happened. Such love. 

These activities continued for the next five years. Either my parents grew very fond of the Blacks, which is laughable, or I should listened more intently to that conversation that summer afternoon when I was five.

It was no time at all before my eleventh summer was nearing its end as my father shoved a letter into my hands and growled, "To your room."

I sprinted, terrified, up the spiral staircase and through the door of my room as I hurriedly unfolded the letter:

_Dear Mr. & Mrs. Locke,_

_It comes with deep regret that I must inform you that your child, Althea, has not been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Absolutely no magical activity has come from her in these eleven years in which an ordinary Witch or Wizard has shown some ability by the age of eight on average. __For the safety of the girl and your family____the trace will be kept on her in these trying times. The staff here, __myself__ included, send our most sincere apologies to you and your family, especially young Althea._

___Recommendations __for __exceptional Muggle schools will be sent following this letter._

___Regards,_

___Albus__ Dumbledore__Headmaster__ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry_

My hands balled into fists, crumpling up the sides of the parchment by the time I finished it. It was as if my heart turned into a ten ton cannonball and dropped into my stomach. My eyes watered and my jaw clenched. I was **not** a witch. I was from a family of purebloods, and was nothing more than a _Squib_.

_Father will disown me! He probably is calling a Muggle orphanage now!_

_And Mother…Oh Merlin, Mother will **murder** me! I won't be **able** to make it to the orphanage in time!_

"What're you going on about?" a high-pitch feminine voice came from behind me. I spun around to see my chestnut haired sister, Lysandra, wrinkling her freckled nose in my direction.

"Leave me alone, Lyzi," I mumbled in a pathetic voice, throwing the letter her way as forcefully as I could. It drifted slowly before her as she grabbed it roughly from the shining wooden floor. Her eyes scanned quickly over the parchment and in a matter of moments, laughter burst from between her lips.

"A _Squib_?! You're a Squib?! This is **_priceless_**!" she shouted through fits of giggles.

My glare wasn't all very threatening, but I continued sending it to my Prefect of a sister as she turned on her heel and threw the letter over her shoulder. She swaggered, obviously quite pleased with herself, out the door.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled only a short breath. Again, again, and again. They got more and more shallow each time and my hand clutched my head post tightly. _Breath, just breath…_

I was nothing.

I was a Squib; a magic-less, pathetic, little Squib in a family of disapproving, disowning Purebloods. Welcome to my Hell.

* * *

to be continued.  



	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One / Of Wizards and Muggles**

"Aly…"

I clicked my pencil on the wooden desktop as the teacher droned on about some Algebraic nonsense at the forefront of the classroom.

"Psst, Aly…"

Click, click, click. Four over pi is something or other.

"I know you can hear me…"

_No I can't, annoying little voice_. Click.

"Aly!" the voice shouted.

The teacher turned towards the back of the class. "Miss Newton, I will not ask you again, please be quiet."

My head snapped in the "voice's" direction, throwing her a much more threatening glare than I had sent my sister nearly six years ago. I've been practicing. I tapped my shiny, black Mary Janes on the linoleum floor loudly. "Good going, Case."

"That does not give you permission to speak in her place, Miss Locke," the teacher snarled our way.

"Sorry," I grumbled, still glaring at Casey.

Casey grinned sheepishly and turned back in the direction of her notebook, as did I. My eyes rolled behind their lids as I twirled my pencil between fingers. My stare stayed glued to the blackboard, going past it and into my daydreams.

"Miss Locke," the old woman I knew as my teacher began in a much more pleasantly smooth tone. I glanced at her again, blinking rapidly at the sight of her. The woman before me smiled politely as she gave me a curious look from under her mud-colored pointed hat. Her once incredibly bland gray dress had transformed into flowing, similarly-colored dress robes, which she adjusted every few minutes.

Thoroughly puzzled, I looked around the room to see if anyone else had noticed this peculiar change. To my further confusion, the room had darkened dramatically due to the less than generous use of long white candles spread around with the accompaniment of dim light through the large, cobweb-encrusted window. The formerly white walls had morphed into stone while the linoleum floor I had been tapping my shoes on had changed into creaking wooden floorboards.

"Miss Locke," the teacher repeated slowly, the slight growl seeping back into her voice. I again glanced at the woman to see her patient stare wearing thin on her deeply wrinkled face. "Would you like to do the demonstration or not?"

I blinked rapidly, taken aback by the question. "…demonstration…?"

She sighed heavily as giggles reached my ears from the corner of the room. "Of a simple disarming spell."

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "A spell?"

More snickers and giggles sounded from the entire left side of the room. I shot a glare at them to see a blonde, blue-eyed girl with pale porcelain skin giggling in a nauseatingly high pitched tone while the wild-haired brunette with near-black eyes next to the blonde cackled loudly over everyone. They're darkly amused eyes never left me as I noticed that peeking from underneath their black robes was a white shirt with a green-and-silver-striped tie.

"Ignore them, Aly," a deeper voice whispered to my immediate right. My head spun around as my eyes were met with a pair of stone gray ones. The boy before me flipped his shoulder length black hair from his face and grinned a bit devilishly at me. "You know this, remember?"

My stomach churned nervously as I replied in a hushed tone. "I can't! I'm only a Squ-"

"Miss Locke, you can speak with Mister Black after class," the old woman said with growing malice. "Now if you would **please** join me at the front of the room."

"But…P-pro- …professor…" I stuttered, the last word feeling unusual on my lips.

She held her glare. "No excuses. Up here **now**."

I gripped my pencil tightly, feeling its texture shift in my hand. I looked the utensil to see that it had transformed into a long, thin piece of wood with a decadently carved handle. The fear in my chest rose higher as I rose from my seat, its legs scraping loudly on the wooden floor. I slowly walked towards my teacher, dragging my feet with each step I took. I came to a halt in front of her, regaining my grip on the sweaty handle of the wand in my hand. She backed up a few paces, took a defensive stance, and held out her wand. "Whenever you're ready."

I held my breath for a moment and lifted the wand. "Ex…expel…"

The two girls and the group around them giggled some more. I held down a growl in my throat and gripped the wand tighter.

"_Expelliarmus!_" I shouted with a slight slash of the wand in my hand.

The professor's wand flew from her grasp and landed with a clack on the floor. She smiled pleasantly, picking the utensil up from the hardwood floor before turning to continue. "Very good, Miss Locke. Five points to Gryffindor."

I gave a small, unsure smile in return as my tension drained. _Gryffindor_. My smile grew as I turned to the back of the classroom. Sirius grinned again, mouthing what I'm almost sure was, _"Told you."_

"Miss Locke."

I shot a glance over to the girls form before, as their snickers became glares. I looked down at my wand in pride, almost wanting to cry.

"Miss Locke."

_I'm a witch! I can use magic! I'm not a…_

"MISS LOCKE!"

MY head snapped up on my eyes opened to see my very normal looking teacher glaring daggers at me. She walked briskly over to my very normal looking desk, her shoes clacking loudly on the very normal linoleum tiles of the floor. She stopped coming within inches of my face. "If I have told you once, I've told you one thousand times, DO NOT FALL ASLEEP IN MY CLASSROOM!"

I glanced down at my very normal pencil, clenching my teeth to stop the tears that began to blur my vision. "I'm sorry."

"To the principal's office," she snarled before turning on her heel and making her way back to the front of the class.

Slowly, I gathered my things, fumbling with my books as I stuffed them in my schoolbag.

"NOW!" she barked at me. I flinched at the sound and stood as I threw my bag over my shoulder. I took a last look at Casey who was giving me a sympathetic stare and a sad smile.

With nothing else to do and no one to hold me back, I walked quickly out of the room listening to my footsteps echoing off the lockers and walls. I just kept walking past the nurses office, the cafeteria, and eventually past the principal's office, right out of the school and past their iron gates. The clouds above me threatened rain as I stared up to them, daring them to.

My feet took me as far as the wooded area a half mile from the school. I unbuttoned my blazer, pulled it off as if it had some disease, and threw it to the ground. I sat on a large broken tree branch, staring at the wretched emblem on the jacket. I wanted to burn it. I wanted to watch as the flames engulfed the school's name. But no, it was the only one I had anymore. I had unfortunately disposed of too many so they refuse to give me anymore and my parents refuse to spend money on anymore.

I was so intent on watching the blazer go up in flames in my mind, that I jumped at the sound of a 'hoot' above my head. I tore my vision away from the jacket and to the sound, finding a familiar gray owl, speckled in black. In his beak was a off-white envelope, very much like the one I read nearly six years before. The envelope fell from the owl's beak and I reached to catch it as it fell to the ground. Nearly missing, I grabbed the envelope and gingerly opened it to find a piece of parchment. Unfolding it, I found the very recognizable scribbled writing.

_Aly,_

_I know it's been a few weeks since last I wrote, but Moony made me focus more on our final potions project, which I did smashingly on, if I do say so myself. How is the Academy? Still a bunch of stuffed shirts and they're pointless subjects? I'm sorry you're stuck in that place, but just wait! This summer I'll kidnap you from those demons you call parents. It'll be you, me, Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail. I know you're not particularly good with new people, but I'm sure you like them! Besides it's been too long since we've seen each other. I hope you enjoy the end of the school year, or tolerate it, whichever. Dromeda and I miss you_

_Sirius_

I smiled slightly and gently folded up the letter, slipping it into the front pocket of my schoolbag. I reached into another pocket and pulled out a book, a pen, and a piece of loose-leaf paper. It wasn't as nice looking as the parchment at Hogwarts but it sufficed. I balanced the book on my knees and placed the paper down.

_Sirius,_

_It was good to hear from you. I'm glad you're doing well. I miss you both too. Things here are…well, they're as good as they have been._

_I had the dream again…_

**((Continued in Chapter Two))**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter 2;**

The sun had began to rise over Hogwarts when the children and teenagers piled out of the hallways and into the great hall, bags packed and ready to begin their respective summer breaks. There was a distinct air of freedom that washed over the students, as they chatted loudly, hugging and high-fiving each other. It was then Sirius sauntered into the crowded room, receiving casual goodbyes from acquaintances and classmates alike. He waved them off and grinned, spotting the familiar sight of unruly hair and round glasses in the distance. He quickened his pace, finding James, Remus, and Peter in their usual spot.

James, who had spotted Sirius first, sat on tabletop and Remus on the bench with a book a few spaces away from Peter. Sirius' grin widened as his friends waved him over. He plopped his trunk down at his feet crashed down between Peter and Remus. "So long to coursework, professors, and tests for three whole months!"

Remus glanced up at him only for a second before returning to the book. "Not to mention so long to all of the girls."

Sirius let out a bark of a laugh and put a hand on Remus' shoulder. "No use trying to ruin my mood today! Besides, there are plenty of perfectly wonderful girls outside of Hogwarts just waiting for me!"

"Ah, and I'm sure you'll find time to get to all of them by September!" James said, with his own laugh.

"Not all." Sirius looked up at James with a grin, nudging him lightly in the ribs with his elbow. "I'll leave Lily for you, mate."

James nodded with a smile, patting Sirius' back. "Good man."

"Yes, because she does so love to spend time with either of you," Remus chimed in, not looking up this time.

James snatched the book from Remus' hands and put it in his rucksack. "Details, Moony. Details."

Remus almost went for the book but stopped himself and chuckle lightly at his friend's behavior. James slid off of the table and grabbed a plate full of food, stuffing various pieces in his mouth as if he were starving. Sirius shook his head before something light landed on his. His glance went upward to watch a somewhat familiar bird fly away. "What was that?"

"Nothing a good shower won't fix," Remus replied with a laugh as his friend began check his hair for any…droppings.

Finding nothing, Sirius looked around behind him, finding a plain white envelope on the ground. He leaned back to pick it up. "Ah, for me, is it?"

He took a look at the envelope, recognizing the neat handwriting immediately. "It's from Aly!"

Sirius tore open the thin paper, careful not to damage the folded letter inside. He unfolded it and quickly began to read, his excited expression turning to one of disappointment almost instantaneously. "Poor girl."

"Hnh?" James managed in the midst of chewing.

Sirius let out a deep sigh, scanning over the letter again setting it down on the table. "My friend at the muggle school. Bah, things are just getting worse by the day there. Looks like she might have gotten in trouble again."

" Oh, you mean the Squib?" Peter asked in between bites of food.

Sirius glared his way at the carelessness of the question before setting his head down on the table. "Yes, Wormtail. The squib. I just wish there was something I could do for her..."

He glanced up and looked back and forth between his group of friends. _Not just any group of friends, per se. The Marauders! The plotter, the charmer, the brain, and the diversion…_ He raised his head again. It was almost like someone had turned on a lamp, the way Sirius' eyes lit up at his own statement. "…something that _we_ could do for her…"

There was a unison, "We?"

" Well, we are somewhat of a team, are we not?" Sirius prodded, glancing around at them with a smile.

Remus rolled his eyes and said flatly, "I would hardly call four teenagers, with the trace on them mind you, a team."

Sirius huffed loudly and turned to James. James nearly _always_ took his side, no matter how ridiculous. "Prongs?"

"Eh…well, a prank is one thing." James put his fork down and scratched the back of his head. Clearly disagreeing with Sirius was a difficult task for him. "A _prank_ won't get us thrown in Azkaban. We'd be tried as kidnappers!"

"You say that like you didn't already help me run from my own family," Sirius said, his tone obviously revealing that he had taken James' refusal to heart.

"That was _different_," James replied with a sigh. He pushed the plate away, his appetite not quite the first thing on his mind anymore. "I _know_ you. And I'm sure this Aly girl is a wonderful person, but...Don't give me that look!"

Sirius gave a defeated look, much like a lost dog that had been shooed away, and turned away from his friends. He grabbed the letter again and exhaled loudly. It was then they heard him mumble, "She's my oldest friend…the very least you all could do is meet her..."

James broke and Remus knew it. He could tell when his bespectacled friend gave him an imploring gaze, similar to Sirius'. He also knew that whatever Sirius and James wanted to do, Peter was already on board merely on principle. He wasn't planning on spending much of the holiday around his friends but something told him that this was only the gateway into an entire summer of trouble. He wasn't at all very thrilled to be put on the spot and decide to simply do what he always did when it was three to one: crumple under the pressure. _Summer would probably be incredibly boring otherwise._

"Where and when will this happen?" Remus muttered, but upon seeing Sirius' giant grin, narrowed his sight. "Just to let you know, if it's too risky, we let it go and get on with our respective summers. Agreed?"

The three boys nodded and Sirius threw his arms over the shoulders of Remus – who was none too pleased by this – and Peter. The four huddled, looks quite ridiculous to their fellow Gryffindors. "Alright, men. Now, during the summer holiday, her mother let's her out to meet with Regulus once a the very beginning of July before locking her away again."

Remus raised an eyebrow at his fellow Marauder questioningly. "I wasn't aware you and your brother were on such congenial terms, Padfoot."

"And I wasn't aware that you grew a second head in the last five minutes." Sirius gave Remus a dull stare and shook his head. "Of course we're not on good terms! But they meet the same place every year. It's a park in London, no chance of good ol' Reg to foul anything up, according to Aly's mum."

James' brow furrowed at the matter-of-fact statement. "Wait, why on earth does she meet with him every year?"

"They're engaged." He said it so bluntly and matter-of-factly that it took a few seconds before he saw the looks on his friends faces change from slight confusion to pure shock. While they absorbed the information, Sirius stood and looked across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. He scanned it quickly and smiled mischievously before breaking their huddle and digging through Remus' open rucksack. It didn't take him long before he pulled out a clean piece of parchment and a quill much to his ever growing luck. _Ah, Moony. Prepared for anything as usual._

A bit perturbed but not at all surprised by his friend's gall. "What in Merlin's name are you doing now?"

Sirius began scribbling onto the parchment immediately, not even glancing upwards to answer. "What else? I'm planning."

* * *

" The last week of school, Althea! The last week and you purposefully leave campus?" My very round, very angry head mistress, Mrs. Maybrooke, hissed at me. It's nothing I hadn't heard before and I was sure it was nothing I wouldn't hear again. In fact, the prominent thought in my mind was not of being in trouble, but of how the entire office smelled strangely like a mixture of black licorice and expensive perfume. The second thought floating around my currently was how much I disliked the mixture of black licorice and expensive perfume. I struggled not to wrinkle my nose in disgust. It was then I looked up at the woman, who apparently did not see her question in the same rhetorical way I did.

I cleared my throat as demurely as possible. "I'm deeply sorry, Head Mistress."

Her eyes narrowed on me as she sat her very large hindquarters in her shiny leather chair. I looked down at her desk, finding a manila folder with my name squarely on top. My eyes widened in sheer horror. She picked up the receiver to the black phone on her right. "You know what I must do now."

"Please, don't call her!" I shout, to my own surprise. My head began swimming with the flooding of thoughts and horrid scenarios. The older woman began dialing the rotary phone as my palm started sweating profusely. There was only a phone in our house for this specific reason! Why else would a prestigious wizarding family have such a mundane muggle invention? Or _any_ muggle contraption? _She's going to know! Dear Merlin! She's going know!_ "I swear it won't happen again!"

She seemed startle by my change in attitude but pleased by this reaction nonetheless. She arched an eyebrow before she finished dialing. "You've said that the last several times, Miss Locke, and yet nothing has changed. I'm afraid I've got no choice."

She had finished dialing and there was a tense silence enveloping us. I swallowed hard, knowing the fear was evident on my face. The woman's expression changed immediately with no explanation. Someone answered.

"Hello, Mrs. Locke? ...it's Olivia Maybrooke of-" the Head Mistress was cut off by something, her pleased evoraporating and only leaving shock. _It's mother._ "...yes, well. I've called to inform you that your daughter, Althea, has been leaving campus during school hours and-"

There was another horrible silence. I began shaking, knowing full-well what to expect by tomorrow afternoon. What she did the summer prior would be nothing compared to what I'd be in for… "...w-well as you know this is against school policy and if it happens again, she will have to leave...yes... I understand...Goodb-"

I gave the woman in front of me a hard, guarded stare as she hung up the phone. I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to run…run so far away that she, nor my mother, nor the damned Ministry of Magic would know where to find me.

Mrs. Maybrooke cleared her throat loudly and folded her hands together, her eyes telling me that she was still shaken. Her attempt at a gathered composure was absolutely pathetic. "Well. I trust you understand the severity of the issue now."

* * *

The four teenage boys were finally starting to realize at this point in their lives that only a limited amount of people can fit under James' invisibility cloak, namely two. It was indeed an unwelcome surprise to Peter but Remus didn't seem to mind as he opened and shut the door inconspicuously and James and Sirius left their compartment on the Hogwarts Express.

The two walked swiftly and quietly in time with each other trying to make it to the other side of train. There were a few times Sirius would step on James heel and the bespectacled boy would stifle a yelp.

They began glancing in the windows of the cars they passed, trying to find a fairly familiar face under a mop of black hair.

"Aha!" Sirius whispered to his friend with a widening grin.

The two huddled against the door to the compartment they had stopped in front of, hoping against all hope they hadn't missed their moment. The car was crowded, full of Slytherins.

James gave Sirius an expectant look, which the animagus replied, "A few more seconds."

Regulus looked focused on the parchment in his hand when he suddenly stood. "I'll be right back."

A few Slytherins simply nodded while others like Luscius and Snape gave him suspicious stares. Sirius and James took a large step backward as the door slid open. Regulus walked at a quick pace, the two Marauders trailing behind silently when the boy in front of the suddenly turned into an empty carn leaving the door wide open. Sirius and James walked in as well, closing the door behind them and throw off the cloak.

Immediately all three drew their wands, Regulus' at his brother while the other two aimed at him. "Well, look at that. You even brought your boyfriend with you."

"Clever," Sirius said in a flat tone. "Now I have a deal to make with you."

Regulus' eyes narrowed on his brother. "Why would I EVER make a deal with you?"

Sirius smirked, gray eyes dancing. "Because, brother dear, it would _greatly_ benefit you."

* * *

Everything about that day made my stomach churn painfully. From the time I entered my first class on this, the last day of school, everything became a haze. I recall sitting in the Head Mistress' office, begging her not to call my mother – unless that had been a dream. _If so, I would've much preferred returning to my pleasant Hogwarts dream, thank you very much. _I had been so angry, I could barely see straight and yet so terrified that I couldn't move. The plethora of thoughts swirling around were almost too much to comprehend - even as I was thinking them.

I heard high-pitched chatter beside me. _Ah, right._ I also recall Casey talking at my side as she walks with me to my dormitory. I supposed that wasn't a dream either. " …you know, perhaps it'd be a good idea to dial down the hijinks next year is all that I'm saying. I'd hate to lose my best friend because of some silly rule."

I force the corners of my mouth up in a smile. "Maybe you're right, Case."

It must have worked, because she returned the gesture, albeit much more genuinely. We stopped at my door and I turn the knob to enter, hearing behind me, "See you in the morning then?"

"Of course, I couldn't leave without saying goodbye, right?" _Sure I could, but I probably shouldn't. _That's when a heard a familiar tapping of glass in my room and my eye widened in horror. I force myself not to turn around and find the creature that made the noise. I focused on my friend and prayed she wouldn't-

"Did you hear that?" _Blast._

The tapping repeated even louder. "Hm? Hear what?"

Tap tap.

"That!" She knew it was coming my room! She tried to look past me at what it may be but I stay out to block her vision.

Tap, tap, tap.

I quickly turn around and back as if I had just heard it. I shrug it off as nonchalantly as possible. "Hail, maybe. But, yeah, I gotta hit the proverbial hay so I can -peck- f-finish packing! Goodnight!"

I strode in and started closing the door on her. The slightly taller blonde gave me a strange look in return." Um...night-"

**SLAM**.

I let out an exhausted and rather annoyed sigh and ran over to the window, seeing the same lightly bespeckled owl with another letter in its mouth. I glared at its large, blank stare. "Damned bird."

My arms strained to open the heavy window as the light brown owl swooped in past me. I caught my breath and spun around to find him perched on my bed post, watching me. I opened the drawer in my nightstand, pulled out a sandwich bag with a stale chuck of bread inside. Closing the drawer once more, I plopped down next to the creature. "Sirius is getting an earful because of you."

The owl continued to stare at me. "Well, if I ever actually talk to him, face to face, which will quite possibly never happen."

There was no reaction from the creature, not that I expected there to be. "Oh, like you know what I'm saying."

I snatched the letter from its beak and handed it the piece of stale bread, which it almost bit my finger off for. I tore open the pretty envelope and dug out the parchment, unfolding it neatly.

_Dear Aly,_

_I'm sorry your year has been so terrible. I hope things start going well for you. Speaking of, I heard from your husband-to-be about your annual "play date" and my band of miscreants and I have decided to meet you there. Now, I realize that we haven't seen each other in a very long while, so as a hint, I'll be the one looking like Regulus. Only much more handsome._

If I wasn't still in shock, I would have rolled my eyes.

_I also realize that this will be our very last correspondence until said meeting. So I want you to read the back of this letter very carefully and memorize every syllable of it. It may very well be the difference between the best summer of your short life or three months of living hell, not to sound ominous. My friends can't wait to meet you. Stay safe til then._

_Sirius_

I wanted to think, _This is it! I can be free!_

...but something inside me coiled and knotted. If anything, I felt as if I had signed not only my own death certificate, but my dear friend's.

_**A/N: Wow. That only took me a few years to write. Hopefully the same won't be true for future chapters. Reviews are mucho appreciated. :D**_


End file.
